PJM Interconnection, the nation's largest regional grid operator, has proposed a framework that would push responsibility for managing explosive data center power demand onto individual member states rather than resolving it at the regional level. The plan comes as PJM's interconnection queue has swelled with AI and data center load requests across 13 Mid-Atlantic and Midwest states. Critics say the approach fragments grid planning and could create an uneven patchwork of rules that slows the buildout of needed transmission.
PJM serves roughly 65 million people across 13 states, and deferring data center load policy to each state could produce conflicting rules, cost-allocation disputes, and delays in transmission investment at a time when grid reliability is already under strain. The decision sets a structural precedent for how grid operators nationwide handle industrial load growth.
Keywords 'PJM,' 'data center,' and 'states' triggered selection. The story is distinct from the Texas halt and addresses a separate, equally significant grid governance decision affecting the eastern US.